He had never seen anyone that took his breath away like Paisley had. Her fiery red hair and emerald green eyes had held him captive, and her curves drew him like bees to honey. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice his increased heart rate and the way his body hardened to her touch. She seemed to space out, her eyes closing slightly, probably tired from her long trip. He could hold her all day, her body a comfortable weight in his arms. Her smell penetrated his every sense, like warm flowers in the sun, sweet and inviting him. He wanted to lean in and draw her smell deeper into him but he held onto to what little control he had left. He just about lost it when he caught her glancing at his body. If only his luck would hold out a little longer, he may just get to know his upstairs neighbor a little better.
The sound of water pouring through the house’s old pipes, alerting him that the upstairs shower had been turned on, had the vision of Paisley naked and drenched invading his every thought. Was it crazy to feel this way about a woman that he had spent only minutes with? He wasn’t sure, but standing in his kitchen, listening to the water rush, wasn’t helping his bodies ache to join her. Deciding it best to get out of the house, he headed for the sliding glass doors facing the ocean, and took off for a very long walk.
* * *
Having been at the beach now for a few days, she had had plenty of time to unpack and get used to her surroundings. She had tried to keep herself busy with writing but her mind kept going back to her sex-on-a-stick neighbor. She couldn’t deny her attraction to Jake, every time he was near, her palms began to sweat and her mind raced with naughty thoughts of them naked on the sand.
They had shared a few short conversations and he had been helping her around the house, fixing small things that were broken by the storm. The conversations came easy, but were geared toward deck material and light fixtures. His kind eyes and sense of humor were inviting, they showed a hint of pain when he spoke about his past. She knew he was a construction worker before he came to Topsail, but not much else. Jake shielded himself, not revealing anything too personal and she wanted to change that. She wanted to learn more about his past and what made him tick. Her obsession with him was leaking into her dreams. The night before, she had closed her eyes and the image of Jake lying on her bed, beckoning for her to join him, invaded her night. She had come close to rapture as the dream progressed to him pleasuring her with his mouth and hands. She had woken tangled in the sheets, drenched in sweat and decided that today she would chip away at his protective shell.
Paisley stared at herself in the mirror. She had fixed herself up as best she could with what little she had brought, changing at least three times. Her nerves were making her jumpy. She nearly screamed when Major dove into the sink. Shaking off the jitters, she pulled her long hair into a ponytail, dressed in cutoff shorts and a coral colored tank, and headed down the stairs.
The door to Jake’s apartment loomed in front of her, and she sent up a silent prayer for the courage to knock and not make a fool of herself. Her hand shook when she raised it and tapped lightly. When she didn’t receive an answer, she turned to walk away, only to spot Jake sitting on the beach. He was lying on a towel near the wet sand. High tide had already began to make its way back out to the far reaches of the Atlantic, and she could see the shells that it had left peppering the pristine beach. She looked up and down the beach, spotting only a few families playing in the afternoon heat. She mustered up what courage she had left and headed toward the little piece of property that he had claimed for himself.
Forcing a relaxed smile on her face she, tried to hide the tension that was threatening to overcome her body as the distance closed between them. “Is this seat taken?” When she saw the book in his hands, she no longer had to fake the smile on her face. “Are you reading a romance novel?” She swore she saw his cheeks flush from embarrassment.
“Yes, I am and I’m man enough to admit it.” He quickly turned the book over, hiding the erotic title from her peering eyes. When he patted a spot beside him on the blanket, she quickly took the seat offered. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she feigned as if she was going for a shell, snatching the book from its hiding spot. One look at the cover art had heat racing to her cheeks. “The Ladies’ Concubine,” was written in red over a picture of a half-naked woman with what looked to be a flogger in her hands.
“I was coming to see if you wanted to go to Island Sweet Treats and get an ice cream to cool off, but it looks like you have some interesting reading material to keep you busy.”
She held the book up out of his reach, and when he tackled her, her eyes went wide at the contact. They rolled in the sand as he tried desperately to retrieve the book from her iron clad grasp. When he rolled her onto her back and pinned her hands above her head, she felt another type of heat rise and as their eyes met, their surroundings melted away.
She wasn’t innocent, recognizing the look in his eyes for what it was pure desire. He swept his lips across hers, tentative at first. He took control of the kiss, deepening the pressure. His tongue wet the seam of her lips asking her to open to him. In the back of her mind she knew that they were in public but she didn’t care. She opened to him, letting him inside. He pulled her closer, turning the kiss into a full on passionate press of bodies. The weight of his body created friction, pressing her deeper into the sand, brought her body to life.
Too soon the kiss ended, but the hard feel of his body and his labored breathing had their chests pressed tight. The planes of his pecs pressed against the rise and fall of her breast, hardening her nipples under her thin tank. He still held her hands captive above her head, but shifted so he held them with just one of his while the other dusted a bit of sand from her cheek. She melted into his touch, his hands skimming her jaw to travel down her neck to her collar bone. The beach faded away and the only thing she saw was the blue in his eyes and the heat of passion written there. She knew that she could get lost in his arms forever.
Jake continued his exploration of her body, skimming the side of her breast, causing goose bumps to break out of her skin. His touch was gentle, caressing in his reconnaissance of her every curve. She studied his face, memorizing every line and crease, hoping not to see disgust written there. Her ex had told her more than once that she was too soft and needed to lose weight, but the way Jake looked at her made her feel beautiful.
“Oh Paisley, you make me forget myself, you feel so good under my hands”
She couldn’t speak, her thoughts lost to the feel of his touch and the warmth of his breath on her neck.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to her ear as the sounds of kids playing brought her out of her reverie. “So, you want ice cream? Then let’s go. I’ll drive.” He offered her a hand to pull her to her feet. She could feel the heat from his gaze as he watched her dust the sand from her clothes, his eyes tracking her hands while they moved across her body had her wishing they were headed to the privacy of the house instead of heading for one of the busiest hangouts on the beach.
* * *
They arrived at Island Sweet Treats just as the lunch crowd made its way out for the day. They ordered their ice cream from the teenager behind the counter and retreated to the seats farthest from the other patrons to wait. Sitting beside the genie machine that always reminded her of the Zoltar from the movie Big, and the juke box playing old forty-fives, she felt comfortable for the first time since she found her husband screwing around on her.
They sat and talked as if they had known each other longer than the few short days she had been on the island. The conversation with him came easily and after the ice cream was gone he drove them out to the Surf City pier. Walking to the end of the swaying structure, they found a bench between two fishing poles that had most likely been set there for the evening by some fisherman hoping to catch more than a fish tale about the one that got away.
“So, tell me about yourself, what’s it like in West Virginia?” She couldn’t help but look away at his question, setting her gaze on a ship tha
t looked like a grain of rice against the horizon. She didn’t want to tell him that she was losing everything she had ever worked for. Vince and her home were becoming distant memories to her and she wanted to keep it that way. The time she had spent with Jake on the island was helping to heal the wounds that had left her hurting. For the first time since her world had crashed, she was starting to pick up the pieces and look toward her future.
“There’s really not much to tell. It’s quiet and peaceful, but so different from the island. Here you can see forever, like the edge of the world is just over the horizon. But at home, it’s not like that. The mountains are beautiful and obscure the world from peeking in on your own private piece of Heaven. In the summer, the trees are lush and green, and in the fall they look like they are covered in a fiery dance of color. They are as different as moonshine and Malibu.” Her thoughts trailed back to memories of hiking the mountains and playing tag as a child. Lost in thought, she only came out of her daydream when Jake placed his hands on hers and squeezed.
“Tiffany is the only family I have left and my house is listed for sale.” She tried to make light of her problem and dance around the real issues she was facing. “I miss West Virginia but this is a nice escape from the everyday life back home.” She tried to divert the conversation away from herself. “Enough about me, Jake, what made you decide to move here?”
“I needed a change of scenery and Topsail seemed like a good place to start over. When I met Tiffany and James, I spent some time hanging out with them on the beach and at the house and by the time they left for West Virginia I felt more like a part of their family than I ever did with mine. When they showed me the apartment, I was sold. My dad owned his own construction company back in Tennessee, so I knew how to swing a hammer. With all the construction on the island, I knew I could find work. I moved in, and I’ve been here ever since.” She could see sadness in his eyes when he talked about his home and she hoped that someday he would feel comfortable enough to share with her his real reasons for leaving.
They sat and talked until the sun dropped low in the sky. He told her about his friends back home and the championship football game in which he fumbled the winning touchdown. They laughed at stories about Tiffany and her as children running up and down the sand. His laughed warmed her even as the cold evening wind chilled her skin. The lights of the pier signaled the end of the tourist and the beginning of night fishing. When the fisherman came to check on their poles, they knew it was time to leave, but she wasn’t ready for the night to end.
She wanted to spend as much time learning about him and his life as she could, but she didn’t want to press him and make him feel obligated. Every minute that she spent with Jake was like time spent with an old friend. The problem was that this friend was gorgeous and she could feel her healing heart slip away with each small gentle touch. They reached the end of the pier and she watched him as he led the way to his truck. She wasn’t ready to call it a day. She looked out over the pinking sky and an idea to drag out the evening struck.
“Why don’t we walk the south end of the island? I haven’t been out there for years and I’d love to see the sun set over the sound.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” His response was almost instant and his boyish smile brought waves of desire that the cool evening air couldn’t compete with. When he brushed her leg with his hand while helping her into the truck, she swore she could hear her heart skip a beat.
At little over twenty miles long, most of the island was covered by homes and businesses, but not the south end. It was a bird sanctuary and was undeveloped, leaving miles of untouched sand and surf to explore. Jake pulled in and parked his truck at a public access and after removing their shoes; Jake reached across her seat to grab a small backpack from the backseat and threw it over his shoulder, making the muscles in his chest bunch. Handing Paisley a small flashlight, they started on the long walk that would take them from the ocean side to the sound side of the island.
At first, neither said a word, but there was no strain in the silence between them and that was unusual for Paisley. She always felt like she needed to fill the void that was between her and Vince when they were alone, but with Jake she was okay with just being beside him and listening to the water as it tried to push closer to their feet. This went on for several minutes until she realized she wanted to share more of herself with him.
The view of the sun dropping behind the horizon had them stopping at a nearby dune. Sitting in the sand, they watched the brilliant colors dance over the waves, making it look like a moving rainbow. She looked out over the darkening ocean and took a deep breath of the salty air. She didn’t understand why she felt the need to tell him about her past, but the urgency was so strong that she couldn’t have stopped the words if she tried. It was like Sunday in church, the need to confess so strong that it tore the words from her throat. “I love this part of the island. When we were little, we would come down here and walk for hours, collecting shells, and playing in the tide pools. It seems like such a distant memory, almost like it never happened. My dad would carry me on his shoulders when my feet became tired and I could barley hold my eyes open, while my mom told me stories about the pirates that used to hide in the sound. She once told me there was a ship there,” she pointed off into the water, the lights of Wilmington twinkling in the distance beyond the sound. “She said that a storm rolled the ship while it was trying to make safe passage from the British Armada. She said that the waves took the ship down to the ocean floor and lost with it was thousands of silver pirate coins and precious treasures.”
She played with the sand, shifting it though her fingers, her childhood memories playing though her mind like a movie. Her mother had been so happy, smiling as she buried plastic coins and diamonds in the sand so when her dad put her down, she could dig and find her own buried treasure. “I’m not sure if the story is true, but the memories mean more to mean than any silver or gold coins.”
“What happened to them Paisley”
“The coins? I have no idea, that was years ago”
He took her hand, still filled with sand and played in the grains held tight in her grasp. “No sweetie, your parents. How did you lose them?”
“Oh, it was a car accident when I was eighteen. It was raining and Dad lost control of the car. They hit a moving truck head on.”
“I am so sorry, Paisley. I don’t know what to say to make the pain better.”
“It was a long time ago and though the pain is there, it’s had time to fade. I don’t think it will ever go away, but remembering about the times we spent here on the beach makes it a little easier to bear. Sometimes, we forget the good times and only remember the bad. We allow the grief to override everything and we dwell on the what ifs. I just hope that someday I find what they had. My father looked at my mother like she was the moon and stars and when she looked at him; it was if life would end without him. It was a love like in your romance book, minus the whips and chains”
She couldn’t help but laugh when he tackled her to the sand, the dune soft under her back, his strong, full lips capturing hers. He stopped her teasing with the press of his lips against hers, and she felt scorched from the searing heat of his kiss. His tongue exploring her mouth was a delicious mix of sweet and salty. The taste of ice cream still lingered, with the hint of the sea. It became a dance of teeth and tongues that had her wanting more. In one touch he had turned her trip down memory lane into a journey of his body. This time he left her hands lose and she took advantage, using them to roam over the hard planes of his back. She started at the crook of his shoulders and followed the trail of his spine until she came to the edge of his shorts. She stroked the skin at the base of his hips, pulling his shirt up to expose more of his skin to her wandering hands as they migrated up his naked flesh.
Jake deepened the kiss as a groan escaped his throat, his hips grinding into her pressing his hard length into her pelvis. The cadence of her heart had tripled its beat and her b
reasts felt heavy with need to be touched. She didn’t want to stop this time. Even here in the open, she wanted nothing more than to rip the thin layers of fabric between them away and let him fill her. Her body was saying yes, oh God yes, but her mind knew the lack of privacy was wrong. With one last thrust of his hips, he wiped away any red flags her mind threw up. Throwing caution to the wind, she reached her hands around and released the button on his shorts, freeing him from their tight confines. His long length filled her hand, his skin soft against her palm as she closed her fist around him. His sharp intake of breath had him breaking their kiss.
“Paisley, if you keep that up I’m going to lose what’s left of my control and you’ll have sand in places you don’t want it to be” His words said that he was willing to stop until they were in a more private setting, but the slight thrust of his hips, pushing himself deeper into her hold, let her know his body wanted nothing more than to continue their carnal dance.
* * *
“Awe Jake, don’t stop, I don’t want to stop.” Giving him permission, his hands pulled her tank out of her shorts and over her head, exposing her lace bra to the night air. The sun had receded beyond view, washing the night in a dark moonless night, hiding them in their pleasure cove from prying eyes Jake scooted down her body, until he straddled her on the sand. He freed her from the confines of her shorts and stared. When he had her body bare to him he watched her face change, the look of a women in rapture flowed into a shy girl, her hands coming up to cover her body from his gaze. “Don’t, Paisley, don’t try to hide from me, you are a beautiful woman.” He traced her ribs under her soft flesh, down to the thin fabric of her panties. “I want you Paisley.” He pulled at the strap of lace, exposing the soft curls between her legs. When she was free of everything but her bra, he seated himself between her thighs. Digging through his backpack, he came up with a small foil packet from his wallet. He slipped the condom on his swollen shaft, rubbing the latex covered tip against her entrance, spreading her cream with his erection. When he probed her entrance, she welcomed him, wrapping her legs around his waist, granting him access.
Passionate Tides Page 2